Dying Moon
by ADarkLoveWrittenInInk
Summary: Shadow laid within a trap, thinking that his end was near. Just when he lost all hope, he was rescued by another named Umbra. He has finally found his place in this world, but for how long? Time is a cruel Mistress when things are going good for the young wolf.


Shadow laid in a deep ridge, his hind leg trapped in a metal mouth with two roles of razor sharp teeth. It had been two days now since the wolf had had any food, and slowly but surely Shadow was dying of loss of nutrient in his system. The ebony colored wolf with bans of crimson throughout his fur began to believe he was done for. Even now, it seemed hopeless that he would get out. Shadow soon closed his eyes as his body screamed that he needed sleep.

A soft whimper escaped Shadow's throat as he moved in his sleep, causing him to have the razor sharp teeth dig deeper into his flesh even more than before. The ebony-banned-crimson wolf stilled his body, wanting only to escape the hell he was placed in.

----

Another wolf walked alone as he had recently lost his mate. Anywhere he looked the squirrels, birds, and small rodents talked of a wolf that was trapped in a ridge. The larger wolf knew the ridge was in the domain of the Mobians. Yet, he couldn't help wanting to know who the wolf was all the other animals spoke of. So continuing on, the larger wolf moved on at a wolf-trot to the ridge.

The wolf gave a cry once he got closer to the ridge. He sat down as he waited for a reply. The larger wolf had no idea how long he waited before he heard the sounds of whimpering. The wolf quickly ran over to the ledge.

----

Shadow had dozed off again as he gave silent cries of pain. No matter what he had faced before he had at least had his pack with him. Yet, now, he was a loner and he knew he needed help.

The ebony wolf tried to stand, in hopes that the trap on his left hind leg would let go. Though, when Shadow stood he realized his mistaken. When pressure was placed on his left hind leg, the trap sank deeper into his leg. Shadow winced as several cries of pain escaped his throat. At the same time his cries of pain were released, the larger ebony wolf had cried out, in hope of a response.

Once the smaller wolf's cries were heard the larger wolf took off from his sitting position as he ran over to the ledge.

----

Shadow stopped moving for a few seconds as he felt the presence of another. The smaller crimson-banned wolf looked up to the top of the ridge and froze. There stood a larger crimson-banned wolf of the same species. Shadow didn't understand why the wolf was here, he had no reason to be.

The larger wolf jumped down from ledge to ledge to the Shadow. Shadow backed up as he held a sudden fear for the larger wolf. For once Shadow was wounded and knew he couldn't fight back, he also knew that he stood no chance against a wolf that had eaten, when he had not.

Shadow backed up a bit from the larger crimson banned wolf, causing the trap to sink deeper into his left hind leg. Shadow hated to show pain in front of another but to him it wasn't a choice, wincing as the trap's teeth started to dig into the bones in his leg. The larger wolf stepped to stand only a few inches from Shadow as he turned his head to the side, "You are an odd wolf...."

"What does that mean," Shadow said as he bared his canines to the larger wolf. Suddenly forgetting that he hadn't eaten in the last few days.

The larger wolf shook his head as he stood, standing right in front of Shadow now. He pressed his head to Shadow's in hope that he'd accept the help being offered to him. Shadow soon bowed his head as he needed the help, but was strong in pride to not speak it. The larger wolf understood as he pressed against Shadow's left flank as his front paws soon hit the trap.

Shadow gave a low toned whimper as the larger wolf tried to figure the trap out. Soon appealing pressure to a switch that released Shadow's left hind leg. Once the trap was released, Shadow fell away from the trap as he laid on his side. His left hind leg bled quickly now as the pressure was released from his wound.

The larger crimson banned wolf came over to Shadow, pressing his head against Shadow's slender neck. The smaller ebony wolf looked to the larger wolf as his eyes were held half open as if trying to stay awake. The larger ebony wolf pressed his head to Shadow's neck again, "Come on....we need to move you.."

Shadow started to push himself up but found that near impossible to do to, due to the blood loss he had already suffered. The larger wolf pressed his body to Shadow's attempting to push him up. Shadow was able to get to his feet within a few minutes, after the constant pain subsided for a few minutes. He leaned his small, slender frame against the larger wolf's built one, having a sudden affect towards the larger wolf for some reason.

"Umbra."

Shadow looked to the larger wolf as his tone had softened from earlier, "Excuse me?"

"Umbra....my name's Umbra."

"Shadow."

Umbra nodded as he started to walk, forcing Shadow to follow him or fall. Shadow followed Umbra as he tried to keep pace with the larger wolf, but found at times he fell behind. Umbra stopped as he looked back to Shadow, amazing himself that he even cared if the smaller wolf could keep up. It shocked him that he wasn't trying to rip the other crimson-banned wolf apart, when he normally fought without stop to get any male wolf out of his territory.

Shadow finally dropped in the snow that covered the ground. Winter had set in several months ago, and it was bad timing that Shadow had been forced from his pack. He was no longer the strong ruling alpha he had always been. Now his world, his old mate, and his life had been taken from him-he was just a loner to anyone in the wolven world.

Umbra trotted back over to him as he pressed his muzzle against Shadow's ear, "Come along...."

Shadow pushed himself back to his feet as he followed after Umbra again. Doing his best to keep up the swift moving wolf. No matter how much he didn't want to keep going, he forced himself to stay within two feet of the larger wolf.

----

Soon after nightfall, Umbra stopped to face a fallen tree. The roots hung like a curtain that hid the entrance to Umbra's den. Shadow folded his ears back, knowing that now that Umbra was near his home, he could turn on him. And seeing as Shadow wasn't at full strength, there would be nothing Shadow could do to stop him. But what Umbra did surprised the smaller male wolf.

Umbra looked to Shadow as he came up to stand right flank to left flank. Umbra then laid his head on Shadow's neck as a soft growl could be heard, "You are to stay here...I will return soon."

Shadow looked to Umbra as the larger male wolf nipped the back of his neck, much like a mating pair would. Umbra nudged Shadow as he stepped closer to the den's entrance. Shadow slid down into the den as he landed in a pile of fur. He looked around him at what light pierced the darkness to find that fur from animals and even Umbra's own self had been used to create a nice, soft bedding on the cold, hard ground.

Umbra waited just outside the entrance of the cave as he laid down there. He watched Shadow as the smaller male wolf laid down with his left hind leg extended out as to keep the pain away for now. Umbra placed his head down on his front paws as Shadow laid his head down in a pile of Umbra's own fur, inhaling the scent. Shadow couldn't figure it out but Umbra's scent in that short amount of time had become his comfort.

Shadow picked his head up enough to look at Umbra as he whimpered a bit, wanting Umbra to join him. Umbra gave a small wolf-smile as he stood back up, coming into the den. The larger ebony wolf walked behind Shadow, before laying down with his head laying on Shadow's shoulder. Umbra watched as Shadow's body soon relaxed to the point that the younger male wolf fell asleep. It amazed Umbra that he was needed by someone again.

Awhile later after Umbra knew Shadow was good and asleep, he stood as he shook the loose bits of file from his coat. Once that was done, he looked back to Shadow with a gentle look in his eyes. Even now, Umbra couldn't understand why this young male wolf was tugging at his heart, but never-the-less he enjoyed the feel of it.

Umbra lowered his head as he licked Shadow's throat before moving away from the younger wolf. He walked slowly over to the entrance of the den, before leaving out of the roots of the tree. The larger wolf took one last look at the den before heading off in search of food, hoping that the younger male wolf would stay asleep that long.

----

Shadow woke to find himself alone in the den. He looked around as he tried to stand up, soon remembering his wound on his leg which caused him to stay in the curled up position he was in. Once he was able to get around the pain, he looked around his surrounding and found that he was in another's den. But as to who wasn't coming to mind just yet.

The smaller crimson banned wolf laid his head back down in a pile of dark ebony colored fur, that held a tint of the crimson color on Shadow's muzzle. He inhaled the scent that was a mixture of woods and blood. At once Shadow remembered what had happened and who had saved him. One word came to his mind then: Umbra. Shadow then looked around for the larger male crimson banned wolf, coming up with nothing.

Shadow came a whimper at the fact that he felt Umbra had abandoned him, after saving him. He curled his tail up as a single tear escaped the barrier he had created. At that moment Shadow realized why he could never get Umbra out of his head after he had saved him. Whether Shadow realized it now or not, he was slowly falling in love with Umbra.

The smaller crimson banned wolf curled up tighter causing a bit of pain to shoot up from his left hind leg. Shadow closed his eyes as the pain engulfed him. Right now, it was a welcome to feel another emotion other than the numbness he felt from not having Umbra close to him. For the longest time all he felt was the pain that coursed through his body.

Suddenly a calming gesture could be felt at continuously, causing Shadow to open his eyes a bit. He craned his neck a bit to see Umbra laying by his hind legs as his tongue constantly licked at his left hind leg. Shadow suddenly felt at ease as Umbra cleaned his wound, causing the smaller crimson banned wolf to press against the larger crimson banned wolf some.

Umbra looked up to Shadow as a small wolf-smile appeared on his lips. He knew what Shadow had been thinking, it wasn't hard to see that. For the fact that the second his tongue had touched Shadow's hind left leg he had calmed in an instant. Yet, Umbra won't admit this to Shadow for the longest time until it was too late, he was glad that he was needed again, even if it was in the smaller wolf's life.

"Where were you," Shadow asked Umbra in a quiet tone, hoping not to betray himself. Though, Umbra caught on quickly that Shadow had thought he had been abandoned again for the second time in his life.

Umbra picked himself up from Shadow's hind legs as he soon laid back down with his neck resting on Shadow's. He gave a low growl in hopes of comforting the younger male as the growl was done in an almost loving tone towards him. Shadow soon laid his head down on Umbra's front paws, having a sense of calmness take him over.

----

The entire winter Shadow stayed with Umbra as his leg healed, though that was a painful process as the winter nights had dropped to negative thirty-seven degrees some nights. This forced Shadow to curl up to Umbra to the point it hurt the smaller male wolf to breathe. Umbra didn't mind as he just curled up tighter to Shadow, even wrapping his fluffy, bushy, tail around Shadow in an attempt to control Shadow's shaking.

That was the way it was all through the winter and winter nights, Umbra did his best to keep the shaking Shadow warm and at ease. Though, sadly he still had to leave the den in order to feed both of them. Otherwise, Shadow would end up dying anyway, even after all the work Umbra had done to show compassion towards the younger male wolf.

----

Shadow woke one morning to find Umbra gone and no sign of him returning anytime soon. This left the smaller male wolf to stay in the den as that was what Umbra had told him. It was his way of showing Shadow that he cared deeply for him and didn't want to lose him.

The day passed slowly as Umbra didn't come back to late in the afternoon when the sun was starting to hit the horizon. Shadow picked his head up as he stood with a bit of a limp, moving toward the entrance of the den. Shadow froze when he saw Umbra dripping with blood. The younger wolf trotted over to the larger wolf, pressing his head to Umbra's as he licked at his face.

Umbra gave a slight smirk as he pressed against Shadow, before licking Shadow's chest. He soon pulled away as he looked to Shadow, "I'm fine....."

"But the blood," Shadow said as a whimper escaped him. Hoping that Umbra was telling him the truth and wasn't lying to protect him. Umbra pressed his head to Shadows before giving a wolf-smile as a fang showed, "Trust me Shadow..I'm fine."

As if to prove his point Umbra looked back behind him to the large elk that laid on the ground. Shadow's mouth watered at the sight of the large hoofed animal, having not eaten that big a meal since the start of winter. He looked to Umbra, knowing that since he had killed the elk, it was only right that Umbra got to eat first.

Umbra nudged Shadow towards the kill, giving him permission to eat first, seeing as Shadow needed to eat more than he did. He laid down a few feet from the carcass as he watched Shadow rip over the stomach of the elk, before starting to eat at its insides. Umbra gave a fanged wolf-smile as he was glad to have Shadow eating normally again. To Umbra it was saying that Shadow had severed and would make it on to the summer.

Shadow soon looked up from the stomach of the elk, having blood smeared over his muzzle. Umbra gave a wolf sound that sounded much like a chuckle as he stood up, moving over to the carcass as if asking permission to eat then. Shadow bowed his head as Umbra started to rip at the flesh on the elk's chest. Both ebony-crimson-banned-wolves continued to feast upon the male elk for a while longer until there was almost nothing left of the elk's flesh.

The smaller wolf soon laid away from the carcass as his extended stomach showed more now. Umbra moved over to Shadow as he was sunning his extended belly in the sun. The larger male wolf laid beside his lover as he licked his throat. Shadow turned his head as he exposed more of his neck to Umbra, enjoying the attention Umbra was giving to him. Shadow gave a low growl of pleasure as Umbra continued to lick over Shadow's throat a while longer.

Shadow soon returned the favor as he licked over Umbra's chest as his desires were getting the better of him. Umbra soon pressed his neck to Shadow's as a way of stopping the younger male's desires. Shadow soon calmed back down as he kept his head resting on Umbra's large front paws. Umbra continued to give a fanged wolf-smile as he laid his head down on Shadow's shoulder.

Sometime later Shadow woke to the songs of wolves. He opened his eyes as he still felt Umbra's head resting on his shoulder. Shadow gave a small wolf-smile as he licked Umbra's throat, causing the larger male wolf to wake. Umbra looked to Shadow then flickered an ear to the sounds of the wolves coming towards them.

Umbra nudged Shadow to get up as the wolves were coming closer to them now. Shadow stood as he looked to Umbra, not completely understanding what was going on. The larger male wolf forced the smaller one into the den, soon moving away from it as the wolves continued closer to their area. No matter, what happened, Umbra couldn't lose Shadow, not after everything he'd been through to keep him alive.

----

Soon the wolves appeared, forcing Umbra to look around him as he was surrounded. One of the larger wolves stepped away from the ring of wolves to face Umbra. Umbra knew the wolf as his old alpha, but he still showed no loyalty to him even now. The alpha wolf stopped to stand less than a few inches from Umbra before baring his fangs.

"You traitor," the alpha wolf growled out in a dark tone. Umbra just looked to him as he knew what his punishment would be if he was considered a traitor. The alpha wolf lashed his paw across Umbra's face, causing blood to raise to the wounds. Umbra stood his ground, refusing to move much further as he still had Shadow to watch out for.

The alpha was pissed by this reaction as Umbra didn't run from him. He turned his head to the rest of the pack of wolves giving a low growl that gave them permission to attack Umbra and do with him as they pleased. The wolves wasted no time in tackling Umbra to the ground, over powering him for the fact that it was one-to-twenty.

Umbra gave a pained cry out as one of the wolves grabbed his throat it their jaws, ripping at the flesh. Another grabbed Umbra's flank and tore the skin away as there was great rage against Umbra in the she-wolf that ripped at his flank. Umbra kicked his hind legs as he nailed the she-wolf in the jaw, breaking her jaw out of socket on impact.

At once all the other wolves attacked as the she-wolf was wounded. Umbra couldn't keep them all at bay as they continued to rip and tear his flesh away. The ebony-crimson-banned-male-wolf felt like a feast as they continued to rip him apart, almost as if they were eating him alive. Soon the alpha male howled, forcing the other wolves away from Umbra's bleeding form. He stepped over to Umbra as he leaned his head to press his lips to Umbra's ear, "Die traitor."

The alpha wolf then stepped on Umbra's neck as a cracking sound was heard. Umbra gave a final cry of pain as he blacked out then. The alpha wolf turned back to his pack as he trotted over to his alpha she-wolf, licking her face gently as her jaw hung. He howled as the wolves disappeared back into the shadows as he helped his alpha she-wolf back into the shadows, knowing she would die soon since she couldn't eat any longer.

----

Shadow crawled out of the den as he heard Umbra's pained cry. He looked out of the entrance as wolves larger than Umbra disappeared back into the shadows. A pair, most likely the alphas, ran back into the shadows as the larger of the two helped the smaller one continue on. Shadow noticed that the smaller one's jaw was hanging at an angle, soon realizing that Umbra had done that.

Once Shadow thought of what Umbra had done, he turned to see a still figure in a pool of crimson life. Shadow's heart stopped as he ran over to Umbra, splashing the pool of blood as the ground slowly soaked the crimson life up. He stopped when he stood right in front of Umbra's right flank. Shadow pressed his head to Umbra's trying anything to get his lover to wake.

Umbra fought back the darkness as he felt someone press against his head. He couldn't think or remember anything, let alone why he was laying in a pool of warm liquid. Umbra opened his eyes a bit as he saw a smaller ebony-crimson-banned-male-wolf pressing his head to his. Umbra gave a soft whine as his body was in extreme pain.

Shadow looked to Umbra then as he knew he was in pain, licking his muzzle gently, "Please Umbra....you have to get up....Please..."

Umbra flicked an ear slightly as he heard Shadow's voice. He gave a small, sad, wolf-smile before speaking. His voice was drowned as he spoke, "Listen pup, I can't protect you anymore...You'll have to do that on your own. Can you promise me that?"

Shadow gave a whimper, "Umbra....don't talk like that. You'll be fine; you just need to get up."

Umbra gave a pained sighed, "Shadow, I can't....I'm too tired and I'm so sleepy."

Shadow didn't know what to do to keep Umbra awake, not wanting to lose his lover, friend, and guardian.

"Promise me Shadow...Promise me."

"Umbra...I...I....promise," Shadow whispered as Umbra gave a final breath in before he said one last thing to Shadow, "I love you pup, and I always will. Don't even forget that."

"I love you too Umbra," with that said Shadow watched as Umbra breathed out one last time. Shadow pressed his head to Umbra's one last time, before grabbing the scruff of his neck and dragging him back to his den. Shadow placed Umbra in his den on a pile of fur that was Shadow's own. He then laid there with Umbra until his body turned cold. Then with one last glance to his dead lover, he left as he held the promise that he had told Umbra to his heart.

--

Characters Used:

**Umbra © Whybother1217 & Enumatse-Fluffy ** **Shadow © SEGA & Sonic Team**


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